Various industrial structures (e.g., offshore oil platforms) and other large-scale buildings (e.g., bridges, waterfront buildings, etc.) are often deployed in maritime environments. When deployed in maritime environments, these structures may be supported by piles (e.g., concrete piles, steel piles, composite piles, etc.) that extend deep in the seafloor. Over time, these structures and buildings may be decommissioned or otherwise taken out of use. After a structure is decommissioned, various governmental regulations may govern how the structure must be removed from a maritime environment. For example, after an oil production platform is decommissioned, federal regulations may require that the platform, including its concrete piles in the seafloor, be removed from the sea. In some instances, the regulations may mandate that the piles be removed down to a certain depth, such as fifteen feet below the sea floor.
Current technology for removing sea-based piles often utilizes blasting material to blast away the seafloor, exposing the buried piles (e.g., up to 15 feet below the seafloor). After each pile is exposed via blasting, workers (e.g., using robots) may saw-off a portion of the pile, and bury the remainder of the pile. As a result, only a portion of the pile remains beneath the seafloor.
One problem with the above-noted technique is that under-sea blasting may destroy marine wildlife. To protect marine wildlife, government regulations may prohibit blasting when certain marine wildlife is in proximity. To comply with these regulations, workers must cease operations until the specific wildlife is sufficiently distant from the blasting. As workers and equipment sit idle, costs may significantly increase, rendering the removal process unfeasible.